The Official XFL Thread!

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That's sending a message. I just assumed the NFL could get whoever they wanted, whenever. The AAF never stood up to them at all; they tried to become an NFL feeder league pretty much from the beginning and folded quicker than Superman on laundry day, so I can see why the XFL wants to go a different route.

Speaking of not repeating the AAF's mistakes, I was pretty relieved that they didn't try to set up teams in Birmingham or Memphis. The media market and attendance in those cities just isn't enough to justify a professional team. Memphis especially has been a black hole for football; the WFL, USFL, and AAF all tried to sustain teams there, and all of them failed.

I'm not sure L.A. will work out, but I think the other seven cities were all good decisions.

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The league has picked up two major sponsors: Gatorade and Anheuser-Busch.

There will be pregame shows on Saturdays and Sundays hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Alyse Zwick. Coachman was a longtime WWE commentator before becoming an anchor for ESPN SportsCenter. Zwick is a former Miss New York who worked as a traffic reporter before joining Smackdown.

Mute Coach, ogle Zwick, and we should all get through this unscathed.

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The league has picked up two major sponsors: Gatorade and Anheuser-Busch.

There will be pregame shows on Saturdays and Sundays hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Alyse Zwick. Coachman was a longtime WWE commentator before becoming an anchor for ESPN SportsCenter. Zwick is a former Miss New York who worked as a traffic reporter before joining Smackdown.

Mute Coach, ogle Zwick, and we should all get through this unscathed.

The COACH!

See, I know Coachman from being the pre-game and halftime guy in Madden for a few years now.

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I feel like the rule changes are great minor tweaks to speed up the action, while still keeping the game as safe. Safer on kickoffs. The XFL is also doing a better job of incentivizing going for it on 4th down and going for 2/3 instead of 1 point. They've also diminished the importance of a good kicker, which makes more sense honestly.

If they don't work out, they don't diminish the integrity of the league. And at best some of the features will eventually make it into the NFL.

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"Quinton's going to play in each and every game in some capacity whether it be quarterback or in another position. I think our fans will see that we'll begin to utilize Quinton a lot of different ways. We didn't bring Quinton in here just to be a running back or to be a wide receiver. We brought him in because we thought he could compete at the quarterback position, and he's had some limited time because of an injury, a tooth infection, and needed to spend some time with family ... but he has jumped back on it and is back getting reps. This will be a fluid process with Quinton as he begins to show his versatility with our team. When Quinton Flowers is in the game, he could be an extremely productive player, and we're excited about the things we can do with him." (per the XFL App)

Quinton Flowers is listed on the roster as a RB. He is on the depth chart as both a QB and RB, and Trestman had previously hinted at using Flowers out wide and on defense. Definitely could be a really fun player on this offense, and I thinking it's really interesting to see multiple XFL teams try guys out in almost a Taysom Hill role, like the Dragons are with BJ Daniels. Now, Flowers doesn't have the size of a Taysom Hill, but he's extremely athletic in his own right and he could be dynamic in the right situation.

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Quinton Flowers is listed on the roster as a RB. He is on the depth chart as both a QB and RB, and Trestman had previously hinted at using Flowers out wide and on defense. Definitely could be a really fun player on this offense, and I thinking it's really interesting to see multiple XFL teams try guys out in almost a Taysom Hill role, like the Dragons are with BJ Daniels. Now, Flowers doesn't have the size of a Taysom Hill, but he's extremely athletic in his own right and he could be dynamic in the right situation.

2 hours ago, Deadpulse said:

Excited to see what teams do with the double forward pass behind the LOS

These guys - BJ Daniels, Quenton Flowers, PJ Walker - they're going to explode with these double passes. A lot of defenders have been playing with the mindset of flowing to the ball on a forward pass, so you'll see a few defenses fall into their old habits.

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The one I'm not a fan of is that teams are required to signal an onside kick. It eliminates the element of surprise. I'm okay with the other rules, though. Traditional kick returns involve quite a few injuries and penalties, and the XFL wants to cut down on both.

Marquette King, the former Raiders punter now playing for St. Louis, attempts to adjust to the new special teams rules. "The future's starting to get on my nerves," he jokes while trying to fasten his high-tech helmet. I know what he means.

Former Oilers QB Dan Pastorini dropped by one of Houston's practices to give them some extra motivation.

Can't wait for the season to start. I've got my Guardians hat and shirt and I'm ready to go!